Original Little Mermaid movie that had the banned cover!
By speedy1279
@speedy1279 (2665)
United States
October 19, 2010 9:38am CST
Okay, So I have been cleaning out my movies lately trying to get rid of some that I or my kids no longer watch. I was sorting them out when my fiance asked what movies I was getting rid of. Well when I told him I was getting rid of my kids little mermaid video he asked if he could see it. He then tells me to hang on to it because it's one of the originals that was released that was later recalled and banned by disney because of the art work be adult rated. IE. part of the castle looks like a male part. I didn't believe him so I took at look at it and sure enough there it was.
Well the point of my discussion is I have tried researching to see if it is worth anything and I am coming up with all different figures, but none are actual proof of value. One website claims its only worth anywhere from $25 to $40 dollars depending on its condition. Then there was another website that said it was worth $5,000. Yet there was again another website that someone claimed they heard a russian man sold one for just under $10,000. So, now I am really confused as to the value of it. Any ideas??
Does anyone know anything about this? What it could be worth? Should I hang on to it? Anyone know of any good websites that could give me the correct information? Any and all information will be greatly appreciated.
2 people like this
2 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Oct 10
There are many conflicting stories going around about this. It seems that it is not as uncommon as some people claim. One report says that it was sold for about a year with that cover and was only withdrawn - temporarily - by one store chain (not by Disney) when a customer happened to point it out.
Contrary to some stories, it was not the work of a "disgruntled" artist and some even claim that it wasn't unintentional (though, perhaps, wasn't meant to be quite so obvious).
This forum thread was the most interesting I found in a brief search (though not necessarily any more authoritative than any other!): http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6025536
If something like that were really as rare as suggested, you could be certain that there would be many fakes around (and probably are!). If it were really worth $10,000 to a collector, it would certainly be worth someone's while making some VERY good copies of it. A clever forger would not, of course, flood the market and it would take a very knowledgeable expert to identify a forgery from the original.
It may be worth a little bit more than any other second-hand video and it's probably worth hanging on to it rather than throwing it in the dumpster, just as a curiosity, but certainly don't hold your breath on finding a real rarity!
1 person likes this
@speedy1279 (2665)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Yes, when doing the research I did before making this post. I came across many different stories about it. So, it is really hard to know what to believe. But thanks for the insight. I didn't even think about the possiblities of people making fakes. I know mine for a fact is not a fake. As the movie I had was a christmas gift that I recieved from my parents back when the movie first came out and I have held on to it because I knew I would have kids one day. Now my kids have outgrown it.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
21 Oct 10
Ah, but don't forget that your kids will someday have kids of their own, maybe. It won't be long before VHS will be a museum piece in its own right, so you may no longer be able to actually view it (though, no doubt, it will still be available on DVD, Bluray or whatever comes next!)
I wish now that I had kept my first computer (bought less than 30 years ago) which needed a TV and a tape recorder and came with a MASSIVE 1k of RAM. (If that means little to you, think of a 200 word text file!)
1 person likes this
@speedy1279 (2665)
• United States
21 Oct 10
This is true, scary, but true. Yes, I do hope my kids have kids someday, even though that is going to be awhile (I hope). My kids are 7 & 8. But I never did think they may want to keep the movie for thier kids. So I really think I am going to hang on to this movie, even if its only for memory sake.
As for the computer you are talking about. I'm not sure I know which one your talking about. I know when I was really little, I remember my dad having an atari computer. That he later let us have for games until it broke.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
19 Oct 10
You can find the real story on the link below from Snopes. That's where I usually find all my information on something I'm interested in, or if someone emails me some unbelievable story. I never heard of this before so I checked.
The only thing I could suggest is check on Ebay, and see what the video is going for. If you think about it, millions of people view Ebay for collectible items, so I would think if it's really worth money, it would sell high on that site. I wouldn't discard it at the moment though because you just never know. You might find out more information in the future.
Check here if you'd like, for the story on it........www.snopes.com/disney/films/mermaid.asp
1 person likes this
@speedy1279 (2665)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Thanks for the information. I have actually already read the story on snopes. That was one of the many websites I looked at when I was researching this movie before making this post. I will check ebay though, but I thought I read somewhere that ebay no longer allows the selling of anything that is now been recalled or banned.
But I am definitly going to hang on to this movie. It may not have any real value yet, but I imagine as more time passes from the time this movie first came out and it was banned, it may eventually go up in value.
